


A Queen

by Mel_Sanfo



Series: Regency AU [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-05-06 07:27:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5408093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mel_Sanfo/pseuds/Mel_Sanfo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>~Victorian AU~</p><p>Oliver Queen, Earl of Starling, has to help his friend Thomas Merlyn with his 'dancing' duties during a ball. There he finds a woman unlike any other...</p><p>~Victorian AU~</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mellovesall](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mellovesall/gifts).



> Since Masquerade is still not cooperating I tried my hand at something I hadn't done before. I have NO real clue about how things went during Victorian times so please go easy on me, guys.
> 
> This work was HIGHLY inspired by 'Under A Winter Sky' by Mel, to whom I am gifting this.

It had all been Thomas Merlyn’s fault, as was usually the case with the duo of friends as of late. Though Oliver himself had a past when he had been quite notorious for getting them both into their fair share of mischief. But no, Thomas had somehow managed to get himself into a squabble with his father, Lord Merlyn, over some non-sense or another and the punishment had been brought down immediately. Thomas had been relegated to what he called ‘wall flower’ duty. Meaning that during the latest ball at Merlyn Manor he would be the one making sure that no lady went without dancing.

And he had somehow gotten Oliver to agree to share the duty with him.

Oliver hated going to balls. After he had come back from war a changed man, a fate that Thomas had not shared, he abhorred these type of social functions. There was just too many people in one place for his liking. Too much pettiness and gossip behind adorned fans and in whispered conversations over spirits that loosened the tongues of gentlemen a bit much. But he was born into an influential family and as such it was his duty to make certain appearances. He was an Earl now, after his father’s passing, so he could not simply shed his responsibilities as he saw fit. No matter how much he would have loved to do so.

The ton, society in general, was a beast that could sway easily, after all.

“I swear, I almost feigned a riding accident this morning so I could excuse myself from my father’s tyranny tonight.” Thomas offered in a low voice, having just arrived from escorting yet another lady back to her seat straight from the dance floor. “And after my dance with Miss Lewis, just now, I feel as if I have indeed been trampled.”

“Perhaps you should have gained her aid earlier today to complete your plan.” Oliver replied simply with a slight uptick of the corner of his lips.

“I believe you have been slacking on your responsibility to me tonight.” The brunette replied.

“Non-sense, Thomas. I have been merely observing. One cannot take care of a wall flower if one cannot spot one.” The Earl replied.

“Then you have not been looking well enough.” Thomas said at once. “I spied a shy lady on the other side of the room while I was on the dance floor with dear Miss Lewis. Perhaps you would be kind enough to let my poor feet rest a moment and take care of her for me?”

His friend was right, not that Oliver would ever admit to that fact. It had been a few songs since he had been out on the dance floor, helping his friend make sure that all the ladies that attended got at least some sort of attention throughout the night but he just wasn’t interested. There was an imp, a memory stamped into his brain of a lady he did not know that had been swirling in his mind’s eye for weeks now, leaving him unable to focus.

“Which one is she?” Oliver asked, sounding resigned to go back to his duty.

“The bespectacled blonde occupying the table, north corner of the ballroom. Simple gown, pale yellow and white lace trim. I do not think I have seen her dance all night.” He admitted and then grinned, an almost wicked grin. “Oh, just imagine the fit so many mothers in attendance will have that the Earl of Starling will be dancing with her instead of their daughters. Considering the esteemed ladies of the ton have been doing nothing, all night, but putting the poor girl down for her simplistic approach in fashion it would be a moment to savor indeed.”

He barely heard all that his friend had to say. A bespectacled blonde? Could his luck had changed so suddenly? Could it be that he was to finally make an acquaintance with the lady that had stolen his attention with that simple glimpse he caught of her during Sunday services as she left? A ghost image of a lady in cobalt blue, escorted away far too quickly for him to approach just then...

With a nod of his head towards his friend, an almost absentminded one, he started making his way through the room. He was gracious to the few people who tried to approach and talk to him but just as he was gracious he dismissed them just as quickly, making his way with certainty towards the table his friend had pointed out. And he had been right in hoping.

Thomas had unwittingly sent him to the lady that had taken over his mind for many days and nights.

She was being chaperoned by an older blonde, their resemblance not quite obvious yet present. Wearing a dimmed yellow gown with lace trimmings, white gloves and her blonde hair in an up-do with dangling curls at certain places. There was no jewelry on her person except the small hair comb he spied when she turned her attention towards the lady sitting beside her. A twinkle of green catching his eye.

There was a small squeak on her part when he came to stand before the table and he could have sworn he saw her blue eyes widen before she averted her gaze so that she was just looking at him through her lashes.

Yes. This was the woman he had been thinking about and she was _**exquisite**_.

Tending his hand forward, in the usual manner, he spoke.

“May I have the honor of this dance, Miss?”

The lady seemed frozen in place until the older woman next to her, who wore a vivacious plum colored gown, nudged her ribs gently with her elbow, quite discreetly, causing the younger blonde to snap into the present and place her hand on his, a barely there touch that seared him as if lightning had struck him.

There were no words exchanged between them, not until they were already on the dance floor. The trip there allowing him a few moments to fully take her in, with the corner of his eye before they assumed the adequate dancing position. He noticed the difference in height then, she was small framed with gentle curves to her person and an impossibly small waist, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulder when she stood before him. Her eyes, he realized, never strayed from the lapel of his coat in her shyness and her lips, which he had to gaze at in passing, were a lovely faint pink that spoke of both health and temptation, the latter solely for him.

“I must apologize if my behavior seems forward to you, Miss.”

“Forward?” Her voice was soft, with a touch of velvet to it that made him almost miss a step.

He knew instantly that he would have paid his weight in gold to hear her say his given name.

“Yes.” He admitted, clearing his throat in a discreet manner. “I fear I have forgone all required introductions before I requested a dance with you…”

“Oh, I know who you are, sir.” She admitted quickly, as if not knowing was a direct insult to himself. “You are Lord Queen; Earl of Starling. Which is, if I may say so, quite an interesting play on words. In the sense that you are both a Lord and a Queen. I wonder if that could be confusing to someone during a conversation. Perhaps to whomever has not been paying full attention to the matters discussed? Would they think the topic has veered to a different Lord or to the Queen herself? Instead of it having to do with you, in which, as stated before, would be both and...” Her barrage of words ended abruptly, so quickly in fact that her teeth clicked together as she closed her mouth; her lips flattening into a thin pale line when she pressed them together, as if by doing so she could keep more words from spilling forth, while her cheeks flamed in a lovely blush in obvious embarrassment.

“I am so, so terribly sorry, M’Lord.” She offered after a moment of silence between them in which he somehow managed to keep them moving through the dance, masterfully, while not being able to respond. He could only stare down at her in both awe and wonder. He had never heard anything quite like her in his life! Her tone of voice was controlled and soft once more, an obvious difference to the almost chipper tone of when her words had run away from her and deep within his heart he ached to have her go back to the former, less contained, way.

“No need.” He said, softly, once he had regained his voice.

The last strains of music signaled his time with her as done for and the older blonde, who had been at her table, appeared at the edge of the dance floor as if the woman whose hand he held had summoned her there magically. She was escorting the dizzying and intoxication blonde away from him, towards one of the exits, before he could utter another word to her. Both women disappeared through the mingling crowd of the ballroom so efficiently that not even his height could aid him at spotting them after a moment. A sense of longing he could not quite understand gripping his harsh beating heart.

“You will be happy to know…” The voice of his best friend pulled him, with effort, from his musings and as a glass of brandy appeared before him he took it without question. “…that my father has been so pleased with our performance tonight that we have been officially relieved of our duties for the evening, my friend.”

“Thomas.” He said looking at his friend with renewed interest. “The lady I just danced with, do you know her? Do you know who she is?”

“Of course.” The brunette replied, taking a sip of his own drink before elaborating. “The lovely Miss Felicity Smoak, daughter of the late Baron Felix Smoak and his wife.”

“Lady Felicity Smoak.” Oliver said while glancing towards the exit the women had more than likely taken, repeating her name out loud as if he could taste it that way. A small smile tugging on his lips. “Thomas, you will serve as my witness to this in the future. That woman, Miss Smoak, I aim to make her a Queen.”

 

 

    

 


	2. Visiting a future Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dialogue only.
> 
> Oliver visits Lady Smoak to talk to her about his intentions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dialogue only. (My first one EVER!!!)
> 
> So, a while back I wrote A Queen. There were a few people that wanted me to continue the story even though at the time it was a one shot. Well, I will admit to the fact that I've had this doc on my drive for a while (FOREVER), so I figured why not start the summer hiatus/break by dusting this puppy off and posting it?
> 
> As usual, I don't have a Beta and all mistakes are my own.
> 
> Enjoy!

“I had heard many things about you, Lord Queen, but no one ever mentioned you were prone to pranks.”

 

“You do not believe my interest on your daughter to be sincere…”

 

“No.”

 

“I assure you, Lady Smoak, I have never been more sincere about anything in my life.”

 

“Lord Queen, you must understand my...hesitation. You are an Earl, after all, and the heir to the Queen line. Plus it has been said, in good authority I might add, that it is expected of you to choose a wife from one of the Lance sisters before this season is over. It might as well be an already done arrangement, the news have reached that many eager ears in the ton. And yet, here you are; in my sitting room, requesting my permission, to court my daughter.”

 

“I can understand the confusion. Yes.”

 

“So you see why I cannot, in good conscience, consider this conversation as anything but a prank gone horribly wrong.”

 

“My intentions are quite real, madam. As for the source of the information I would blame it all on motherly meddling rather than truth, considering I had already made my intentions regarding either Lance sister abundantly clear. Though both are undeniably beautiful neither or them hold my interest.”

 

“But my daughter does..?”

 

“She does.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I was brought up to believe a gentleman should never speak of war to a Lady, however I fear that my explanation requires it. Nothing graphic, I assure you, something completely in passing. War changes a person and some men, they are lucky enough that, when they come back home from it for them it is as if by shedding their uniforms they shed the necessary awareness that kept them alive in the battlefield. Unfortunately, I am not one of those men. I have struggled acclimating back to a life of peace. Not in a sense that I keep to violent ways, but in a different manner.”

 

“You see, a lot of the men while in war have to train themselves to see everyone and everything as either a threat or a target, And that kind of awareness is not easy to let go of; at least it has not been for me. Then, a few weeks ago, right after Sunday service, I knew peace for the first time in a long time. There was a woman, your daughter, wearing a blue gown and she was talking to Mrs. Diggle. Lady Diggle’s babe was holding onto her finger and the way that she smiled… I did not know who she was, there was no proper way for me to approach without causing a scandal. I was so...taken aback by the fact that she was the first person that I could see as a person, after my coming back from war. Not a threat. Not a target. Just a beautiful woman whose sole presence made me feel peace…”

 

“You did not know who she was?”

 

“I asked my mother. She said she did not know the lady in question. Said that she must have been visiting from somewhere, I believe now that asking her might have been my first mistake…”

 

“Of course she did.”

 

“After that her interest in having me spend time or show interest on either of the Lance sisters became an obvious endeavour. Which is why I had a stern conversation with her regarding the issue. I suppose it was not stern enough.”

 

“My Lord, I can tell you right now, Lady Moira Queen will never allow this match to happen. I hope you realize that.”

 

“I have been made aware of the slight level of discord between yourself and my mother, yes, though I will admit I do not know the details.”

 

“She will never agree to this for many reasons, not just what she perceived as my most recent indiscretion. Like her mother before her, she is the Lady of the ton in charge of giving advice towards the most advantageous matches for marriage. As the daughter of a former governess, turned Lady by marriage, you can only imagine the ‘standing’ your grandmother gave me in the marriage mart during my youth. I believe the words she used were something along the lines of ‘she would only be good enough for a bumbling country lord, far far away from the city.’ “

 

“I am...terribly sorry.”

 

“When my late husband went against her advice and decided to marry me it caused quite the scandal. Furthermore, the ton was convinced that I was simply a social climber; even though my breeding and schooling had been that of a Lady. There were better years, when the ton tolerated us more than usual due to our generosity hosting gatherings and balls. But then the parties had to stop, with my husband’s health failing as it was.”

 

“Since we could no longer be entertaining to those of society my family became a pariah once more. It became even worse when your father passed. Lady Queen was distraught, as well she should have been, at losing her husband but her demands for attendance to his funeral and burial were not something we could accomplish. At the time my husband was bedridden and our wealth had been depleted from his care, so much so that we had minimal staff and no one to care for him if we had gone. Our absence, and everyone else who could not attend, has placed us in disfavor with the majority of the ton. Especially with your mother. Lady Moira, I hear, seems to think that my daughter should undergo the path I narrowly avoided in my youth and marry a lowly ranked country Lord, and moving far away from here.”

 

“Then we make it so even my mother cannot deny the fact staring her in the face.”

 

“And how do you propose we do that, My Lord? Should I be so inclined to allow it.”

 

“You allow me, from this day forth, to court your daughter as publicly as possible without causing a scandal. Meanwhile I will make it impeccably clear to my mother that my choice to make your daughter my wife is not one up for discussion.”

 

“How would you do that? And do you realize that should I agree to all this you would be sentencing your wife to live under the same roof as a woman who thinks her nothing more than something that should be scraped off the bottom of her shoes?”

 

“My mother loves her standing on the ton, the power and influence that provides her as well as her lavish home. If I made it unequivocally clear to her that she could lose all of that I am sure she will reconsider her standing in the matter, post haste.”

 

“I am afraid I do not follow.”

 

“All that my mother has is hers to be had because of me, My Lady. Should she raise any objections to my wife choice I can easily take away all that she loves by relinquishing my title. Obviously some accommodations and restrictions would be put in place regarding my sister, to keep her from such a rash decision on my part, of course. Or I could simply show my mother a form of leniency, without forgoing my title altogether but using it and simply move her to one of our country homes, should I find her behavior unbecoming towards my wife. Lady Felicity would be the lady of the house in all sense of the word and as such Thea would have her for guidance, as well as yourself. My mother could contentedly take the time to enjoy the country air she seems so eager to force upon the women of your family.”

 

“You would relinquish your title? For my daughter…?”

 

“If necessary. Yes.”

 

“Why? You do not even know me?”

 

“Felicity…”

 

“No, mother, I am sorry to interrupt, but I want to know. We have met only once and the one time we did I rambled.”

 

“I know enough. You are a strong, intelligent, beautiful woman with obvious opinions and ideas.”

 

“Not common traits for women who tend to marry Earls, My Lord.”

 

“No. And, with your mother present, I would like to be forward enough to say that there seems to be a terrible shortage of that in the ton altogether. I was charmed by your thoughts the night that we met and the sincerity that I heard in your tone. So much so like the sincerity in your voice right now. In a completely selfish act, I would very much like to fill that void in the ton as well as make myself incredibly happy in the process, by getting to know you better.”

 

“You propose marriage so you can know me better?”

 

“Though I am not proud of it you will come to find, Miss Smoak, that I can be a very selfish and stubborn man when a matter interests me. I am hoping you, and your mother, will give me the chance to show you my better qualities.”

 

 


End file.
